Blog Tour & Review :: Secretly Smitten by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, Denise Hunter

Title: Secretly Smitten
Author: Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, Denise Hunter
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers (January 8, 2013)

Source: Received from publisher via LitFuse Publicity Group

Buy book: here

About the Book:
Summer, fall, winter, spring-Smitten, Vermont, is the place for love . . . and mystery!

There's a secret in Grandma Rose's attic-a forgotten set of dog tags belonging to her first love. But David Hutchins was killed in action and never returned to Smitten. How did the dog tags end up in the attic?

The mystery intrigues Rose's three granddaughters-Tess, Clare, and Zoe-and they decide to investigate, though their mother, Anna, warns against meddling. But as the seasons turn and the mystery unravels, the three young women and their mother encounter some intriguing mystery men of their own. Has a sixty-year-old puzzle sparked something new for this close-knit family of women?

Join popular romance novelists-and real-life BFFs-Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter for four delightful intertwined tales of mystery and sweet intrigue.

Review:
I enjoyed reading Smitten last year and was excited to be able to read this 2nd book. At first I was a little nervous that it would be an unnecessary sequel, but then when I found out that there are four new characters, I was sold.

One of my favorite things about reading Smitten last year was that it introduced me to some new authors that I haven't read before. It was nice to see all their different writing styles combined again into one compilation.

In some ways this book is actually better than the first one because three of the characters are sisters who are are on the mission to solve the mystery of their grandmother's first love and their stories a little more intertwined together than the friends in the first one. Regardless, I was so happy to revisit Smitten and still secretly wish that this was a real town that I could visit in real life. It was fun to revisit this quaint town again.

The stories are very light and cute including dog tags, knitting (and a sheep!), the same snappy, witty dialogue from the first book and another all-around feel good story.

If you like Christian fiction, you will love this quick, light love story. You'll be smitten with Secretly Smitten. :)

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

About the authors:
RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including "Tidewater Inn", and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. * Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include "A Billion Reasons Why" and "What a Girl Wants." * Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including "A Cowboy's Touch" and "Sweetwater Gap." She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana. * Diann Hunt has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate.

Find out more about Coble, Billerbeck, Hunter, Hunt here.

Check out more posts on the blog tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/Smitten

MIA

I've been MIA from my blog for awhile now. :(

Here's the reason why:

Our little family is growing and we will be a family of 4 come May. Pregnancy this time around has been very different and I had a very sick first trimester (hence being MIA). I was a walking, nauseous zombie and there was very little reading done during this time. It's taken a long time, but I'm finally starting to feel more like a normal, fully-functioning human being again. Food is finally good again. I'm looking forward to catching up on some reading now that I'm FINALLY getting my 2nd trimester surge.

 

And for those of you not following me on fb/Instagram... we're having another girl! :)

Look for some Armchair BEA posts coming up soon! I was asked to be on the organizing committee after last year and I'm so honored to be able to work amongst these wonderful ladies. (Ironic thing is I'm due the week before BEA, but hopefully I'll still be able to help out beforehand.) 

 

Blog Tour & Review: The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson

Title: The Reluctant Bachelorette
Author: Rachael Anderson
Publisher: HEA Publishing (September 2012)

Source: Received from author via I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Book Blasts & Blog Tours

Buy ebook: here

Buy paperback: here  

About the Book:

Unknowingly cast as the bachelorette for her town’s charity event, Taycee Emerson wants out. Especially when she discovers her old teenage crush, Luke Carney, is one of the bachelors and it's up to the viewers--not her--to decide which bachelors stay or go.

Coerced into participating, Taycee does what any self-preserving girl would do. She launches a subtle attack on Luke’s good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. Unfortunately, Luke's an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she's up to, it means revenge.

But when their pranks go south, will they screw up any chance they have at a future together, or will they be able to forgive and forget and prove that love really does conquer all?

Review:
What a fun read! This was the perfect chick-lit, clean romance read. I used to like watching the show "The Bachelor/Bachelorette." I actually watched the first few seasons. It was such an intriguing idea that you could find love on reality TV show. Nowadays, with all the breakups and messy relationships, it's lost a lot of its flair, but I love that this book used this show as a premise for a sweet love story.

I loved the characters, especially Taycee. She was the perfect girl-next-door character and I just loved the budding relationship between her and Luke. It was so sweet and playful. Almost reminiscent of young first love. Plus, the dialogue was so witty! I love it when the dialogue isn't just filler, but actual substance. Lastly, all the other characters each had their own personalities which added variety and flair to the story. Fun all around!

This was a quick, fun, humorous, entertaining read. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for some light and clean romance. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's books in the future. (I've had Minor Adjustments on my to-read list for what seems like forever!)

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

About the Author: Rachel Renee Anderson

Rachael Anderson is the author of four contemporary romances: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She's the mother of four, can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating. 

FB fan page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachael-Anderson/174521852685105
Website:
http://rachaelreneeanderson.blogspot.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/rachaelreneeand
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3229576.Rachael_Renee_Anderson
Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Renee-Anderson/e/B003357K70/

Check out more posts on the blog tour: http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/p/blog-tour.html

Princess books at Lowes

Who knew you could read princess books while sitting in a pink chair at Lowes? ;)

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Our next read aloud!

Lily's catching up on some recommended 5th grade Common Core literature. :) 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is our next read aloud! I've never read it before so I'm excited! :)

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MMGM: Babymouse #1 Queen of the World by Jennifer Holm

Title: Babymouse Queen of the World! (Babymouse #1)
Authors: Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
Publisher: Random House Children's Books (Dec. 2005)

Source: Bought from Scholastic Book Clubs

Summary from Goodreads:
It’s the same thing every day for Babymouse. Where is the glamour? The excitement? The adventure? Nothing ever changes, until . . . Babymouse hears about Felicia Furrypaws’s exclusive slumber party. Will Babymouse get invited? Will her best friend, Wilson, forgive her if she misses their monster movie marathon? Find out in Babymouse: Queen of the World, a graphic novel with attitude!

Review:
Like I mentioned in a previous post, I'm adding more graphic novels to my classroom library so I thought I'd do some reading to check out what all the fuss is about regarding Babymouse. After reading it, it looks like I've been missing out!

What a cute graphic novel! I love all the pink and it really fits Babymouse because she's a girly girl all the way through. The graphics are eye-catching and easy to read, even though it doesn't have a lot of words on each page. Babymouse is a fun character because of her wild imagination. This first book follows Babymouse on the quest to get invited to a popular girl's sleepover. She will do ANYTHING to go!

My only complaint is that it might be confusing for some readers to keep up with what's reality in the story and what's going on in her head as a daydream or what she's imagining. She goes in and out of her imagination so frequently that I could see a reader losing track of what's going on in the story. Also, it's target audience is definitely young, preteen girls. I'm not sure I know many boys who'd pick up a pink book about a mouse and read it in front of his friends. More power to the ones who would though!

Looking forward to adding this series to my library!

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

About the Author: Jennifer L. Holm

Jennifer L. Holm is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling children's author and the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels OUR ONLY MAY AMELIA, PENNY FROM HEAVEN, and TURTLE IN PARADISE. Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series -- the popular Babymouse series and the bestselling Squish series. She is also the author of several other highly praised books, including the Boston Jane trilogy and MIDDLE SCHOOL IS WORSE THAN MEATLOAF. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

Author's website: http://www.jenniferholm.com/

If you would like to find out more about Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday, you can check out Shannon Messenger's blog here.

I heart Powells!

What I love about buying books from Powells is that even though it's a "used" book, it's still beautiful like a brand new one. That and supporting indie bookstores!!!

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